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FLORIDA SEMINOLE AGENCY 



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SPECIAL REPORT 

of the 

FLORIDA SEMINOLE AGENCY 









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PRESENTED BY MR. FLETCHER 

August 19, 1921.— Referred to the Committee on Printing 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1921 



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SENATE RESOLUTION 187. 
Reported by Mr. Moses. 



In the Senate of the United States, 

December 12, 1921 . 
Resolved, That the manuscript entitled "Special Report on the Florida Seminole 
Agency" be printed as a Senate document. 
Attest: 

Geoijge a. Sanderson, 

Secretary. 



LIBRARY OF C0NQRES8 

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SPECIAL REPORT OF THE 

FLORIDA SEMINOLE AGENCY. 

B}- Lucien A. Spencer, Special Commissioner. 



TRIBES. 



The population of the Florida Semhioles is matle up of two distinct 
tribes, speaking different languages and having very little in common. 

The northern tribe, locally known as the Cow Creeks, numbering 
115, speak the Muskhogeaii language, while the southern tribe, 
known locally as the Big Cypress Indians, with a population of 339, 
speak a dialect language known as Miccosukee. The population, 
made up of the two" tribes, is scattered over a territory comprismg 
9,000 square miles, in which there are no roads and practically no 
white population. 

During the Indian wars the Cow Creeks and Miccosukees mamtained 
a defensive alliance, but did not mingle socially, and to this day 
intermarriage between the two tribes is of rare occurrence. 

TRIBAL CUSTOMS. 

The Seminoles are an orderly people. They are divided into bands 
each under a headman who enforces strict discipline and requires 
perfect obedience to the unwritten code. When a statutory law is 
broken it is due to ignorance, and w^hen the laws are made known to 
an Indian, no second case of violation has ever been recorded 
against them. The local courts recognize this fact, and usually the 
judges seek to impress upon an Indian who is undergoing trial the 
nature of the law that he has broken, knowing that he will carry the 
news of this law to his people and thus prevent it from bemg broken 
ao"ain. 

• "The tribal laws of the Indians are just and inflexible and if one is 
violated the erring one accepts the penalty, even though it be death 
itself, without a protest. 

Indian-custom marriage still prevails; but such marruiges are more 
binding among them than legal marriages are among white people. 



MORALITY 



Probably no people on earth have a higher standard of morality 
than the Florida Seminoles, and it is not a single standard. 

The Indians have a high respect for property rights, and thelt and 
lying are serious crimes in their unwritten code. 

Gambling is unknown among them. 



DOMESTIC LIFE. 



The domestic life of the Florida Seminoles offers a great contrast 
to that of most other Indians. The women are treated with much 
consideration and their wishes control famdy policy. I he women 

3 



4 FLORIDA SEMIXOLE AGENCY. 

perform tlie greater part of the work about the camps, but not as 
menials; for indeed, they are quite independent, and are the finan- 
<'iers of the home. 

The Seminok^ ehikh'en • are almost perf(K't models of parental 
control, such a thing as willful disobedience being of rare occurrence. 
The authority of the parents is maintained without the harshness 
and severity common in many white families, obedience being ren- 
dered as a tribute to family law and not through fear of punishment. 

The house is a shacklike structure suited to the semitropical 
country. Every Seminole has a house; as soon as a child is able to 
care for its own simplest needs, it occupies a house separate from its 
mother. The wife has her home and the husband has his, and they 
occupy their respective homes, each living in a separate house. 

In iiis report made in 1880 to the Bureau of Ethnology, the Rev. 
Clay MacCauley describes the dress of the Florida Seminoles as 
f ohows : 

The clothing of the Seminoles at this time was scanty. The males usually wore a 
cotton or calico shirt, Vielted at the waist, and reaching within several inches of the 
knees. A kerchief al)out the neck, andaturhan made of one or more bright colored 
shawls, folded and wound several times about the head, with ends neatly tucked away, 
completed the dress. 

The women wore a skirt, A^ith short waist of calico or gingham, Tint no co\'ering 
fiir head or feet. 

This description holds for the camp dress of these Indians at the 
present time. Their common attire is unlike that of any other 
inhabitants of America. However, the clothing of the whites appeals 
to the young men of the tribes. At home or on a hunting trip the 
young man is content to go without covering for his legs or feet, 
but when he visits a white community, he puts on shoes and trousers 
if he has them. 

HEALTH. 

The Seminole Indians of Florida are known as the most healthy 
tribe in the United States. Dr. O. S. Phillips (United States Indian 
Service), who made a health survey of these Indians, said in part: 

The Seminole Indians suffer less from the ravages of disease than any tribe I have 
ever visited. 

The only disease of any consequence found among them is hookworm, which, if 
those infected could be congregated a little closer and given systematic treatment, 
could be eradicated in a comparatively short time, though, of course, there is always 
danger of reinfection. 

The excellent health enjoyed by these people is, I l)elieve, due to the fact that they 
live in the open air all the time, day and night. 

Scattered through the Avilderness as they are, with few roads or trails, it would be 
impossible for regularly employed physicians to work among them. 

Dr. R. E. L. Newberne, chief medical supervisor, United States 
Indian vService, inspected the work among the Florida Seminoles dur- 
ing the month of March, 1921, and the following is taken from his 
report : 

It is said that the Florida Seminoles are free from tuberculosis. I hope they are, 
but the assertion is too good to accept without question. It is also said that venereal 
disease is unknown among them. I can accept that as a fact. * * * An arrange- 
ment to have medical attention rendered by the nearest available physician is being 
followed. Some of the Indians are so isolated that a physician can not get to them 
when they are ill. Those who are able to travel — and a Seminole has to be very ill 
if he can not travel — usually seek a physician and Maj. Spencer pays the cost. 



BB :'.4 8^<^ 



FLORIDA SE.MTXOLE AGENCY. 5 

I saw a little ])oy in the Lee County ^reinorial Hospital at Fort ifxcrs who had been 
successfully operated upon for inguinal hernia under a general anesthetic, this opera- 
lion lieing the first ever performed upon a Seminole under anesthesia. 

The barriers are givintr way and the Seminoles are seeking the henelits of civiiiza- 
lion. ]\ray they never know its vices. * * * 

When the Indians congregate on their reservation it will be feasible to employ 
regular medical services for them, but until that time the present arrangement should 
remain in force. 

The year just closing has been a season of (Hstress f(M- niany of the 
wSeminoles. There was no demand for fur or alligator hi(k>s. the only 
two things that they depend on to obtain money with which to buy 
the necessaries of life other than those which they obtain through 
hunting. A certain amount of illness has been caused by under- 
nom-ishment among the children, and an unbalanced ration contain- 
ing too much meat among the achilts. It was also necessary to 
furnish certain of the older Indians provisions in order to prevent 
famine conditions. 

Expenditures for relief of distress among the Florida Seminoles for 
the fiscal year 1921 have been as follows: 

Professional services of physicians ' .^332. 35 

Professional services of opticians 4. 50 

Hospital expenses 244. 50 

Medicines 63.57 

Transportation of t;ick Indians 66. 52 

Telegrams relative to sick Indians 1. 11 

Provisions supplied to sick and destitute Indians 1, 082. 24 

Total 1, 794. 79 

EDUCATION. 

Under this head Dr. Newberne reports as follows: 

It is not practicable to establish schools for these Indians so long as they remain 
scattered as they are at present. If they occupy their reservation, as many of them 
desire to do, schools can be estal)lished. How to educate the children of these ])eople 
without jeo]">ardizing their health is one of the greatest problems of the agency. There 
are no health problems or moral problems connected with the uplift wt)rk among the 
Seminole Indians other than that of preventing deterioration from the present attain- 
ments. The problems are educational and industrial in character. The first will 
be hard to solve, but the second, I believe, will be easy if the program of the local 
agency is supported by adequate appropriations. * * * I believe that the Florida 
Seminole Agency is in good hands and that the administrative officer is worthy of 
full support. 

INDUSTRIAL POLICY. 

The United States Government holds 26,741.72 acres of land for 
the use and benefit of the Florida Seminoles. An industrial policy 
has been outlined looking toward the establishment of an industrial 
center on the largest tract of this land (17,280 acres) situated in Lee 
County, about SO miles from Fort Myers. 

For*^the purpose of carrying out this pohcy, S20,000 was appro- 
priated for the year 1920 and with this money 12,800 acres of grazing 
land was fenced, necessary reservation buildings erected, and the 
interest and cooperation of the Indians estabhshed. Four thousand 
dollars was set aside for the purchase of a herd of cattle for the range . 

In order to continue the work, $15,000 was requested for 1921, but 
only $5,000 appropriated. The Indian Office refused to allow the 
purchase of the cattle because there would be no funds to carry the 
herd through the year, and the work came to a standstill. 



6 FLORIDA SEMINOLE AGENCY. 

The necessary expense of maintaining tiie work during the year 
1921 was approximately $7,207. In order to prevent actual famine, 
the Indian Office advanced $2,207 of its own funds. 

Seven thousand dollars has been appropriated for the year 1922 
and every cent will be needed to prevent actual sufi'ering and keep 
the present plant from deteriorating. 

The idea of the industrial policy is to make these Indians self- 
supporting and not a constant drain upon Government funds. With 
the disappearance of game and the occupancy of the land by white 
settlers, some provision must be made for these Indians. With 
sufficient appropriations this can be accomplished in less than five 
years, while, on the other hand, small appropriations merely prevent 
actual suffering for the time being but give no remedy for existing 
conditions. They make the Indian an object of charity instead of 
helping him to maintain his independence and self-respect. 

The question is often asked: "Will the Indian accept this offer?" 
The answer is an emphatic yes. All labor at the industrial center is 
performed by Indians. With the limited resources, it is necessary to 
allot a small amount of work to each Indian in order that all may have 
a chance. While this report is being written, 50 adult males are at 
the industrial center working in turn as funds can be secured to pay 
them. If sufficient funds were provided to carry out the necessary 
improvements, a large majority of the Florida Indians would be 
there to carry on the work. 

The Indian is primarily ah agriculturalist, and given proper instruc- 
tion regarding fertilization and care of crops, improved breeding, 
and care of cattle and hogs he will have tlie best crops and finest 
herds in this part of the State. 

Financial report. JiKcal iitcir 19.' 1. 
Receipts: 

Appropriation siippo.rt of Seminoles in Florida .§5, 000. 00 

Appropriation relief of distress and preventinp,- disease 1, 707. 00 

Appropriation general expenses, Indian Service 500. 00 

Total 7 , 207 CO 

Disbursements: 

Salaries and labor 4, 100. 00 

Motor transportation — ■ 

Gasoline and oil 509. 55 

Repairs and equipment 356. 64 

Health and sanitation 1 , 794. 79 

Fuel and lights 81. 25 

Travel and per diem - . 306. 35 

Miscellaneous expenses 58. 42 

Total 7 , 207. 00 

Attention is called to the fact that receipts from appropriations 
for relief of distress and general expenses, Indian Service, were 
provided by the Office of Indian Affairs to meet emergencies and 
prevent famine conditions. This work had no official claim on 
these funds in any way. 
Respectfully submitted. 

LuciEN A. Spencer, 
Special Commissioner and Special Disbursing Agent. 

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